


Inertia

by notavodkashot



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: A Dance of Two Himbos, Accidental Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Established Relationship, M/M, Miscommunication, Post-Championship, Requited Unrequited Feelings, Trans!Leon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25452310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notavodkashot/pseuds/notavodkashot
Summary: After the fateful championship match that crowned a new champion for Galar, Raihan seeks out Leon to figure things out.It goes... differently than he expected.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 113





	Inertia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OniZenmaru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OniZenmaru/gifts).



> Written for a Twitter prompt drive!

Raihan had known that Leon was going to lose to Gloria in the Championship Cup. 

There was something in the way Leon watched Gloria, in the aftermath of the Darkest Day, thoughtful and a bit surprised, like he’d stumbled upon a truth he hadn’t even known he was looking for. Still, Raihan kept his thoughts to himself, half because he didn’t know how to put them to words, half because there just was no time. With Rose gone, and decisions needing to be made, Leon stepped up to it with the same confidence he stepped up into the pitch. He knew just what to say and who to say it to. 

Raihan wanted to reach out and… talk to him, even for five minutes, ask him if he was alright, if he needed to step back, that he could use Raihan as an excuse if he wanted. But Leon smiled and went on like it was nothing, and Raihan had a gym that had weathered the worst of the catastrophe. He had his own sea of people to talk to and reassure, and as much as he’d have preferred otherwise, he put on an easy smile and stayed in Hammerlocke when Leon left for Wyndon, carrying with him a whirlwind of things that needed to be sorted out before the championships could be finished. They couldn’t be postponed indefinitely, after all: people had come to see an epic battle and the fact it had been interrupted by a literal attempt to destroy the world only made the hype all the louder. 

Raihan wished they hadn’t announced the exact nature of the Darkest Day, though. He was tired of watching social media implode in loud screaming and he knew whatever truth had been intended to be shared was not likely to be the thing actually shared around anymore. And the fact Leon had lost was only going to add fuel to the fire, of course. Scandal after scandal, really. He was good at navigating public opinion and he had a good grip of his own personal brand online, but he had the sinking feeling he was about to star in the latest gossip explosion in the net, and no amount of good PR was going to save him. 

After all, he’d built half his brand around being Leon’s rival. 

After all, he hadn’t been the one to defeat Leon. 

It wasn’t very hard to figure out what needed to happen next. 

And really, there was very little point in dragging it out, either. It was going to suck, but he was made of sturdier stuff. It was his own fault, for not stepping up his game enough. He talked the big game but didn’t deliver and now it was time to make peace with it. Sort things out. 

The worst part, Raihan thought, the bit that made him really angry at himself, was the fact he’d caught himself thinking maybe this was a conversation they could have, after their usual post championship romp. And that was… that was stupid. Leaving aside the fact they were probably not going to have a post championship romp, on account Leon was no longer champion and Raihan didn’t fight him for the title this year. It said something, and it wasn’t something great. 

Really, it was his fault for always procrastinating. He should have put a stop to it, the first time he realized it was more than casual sex, on his side. But he hadn’t, because there was no harm to it. Leon liked spending time with him, here and there, between all his overstuffed schedule and they had fun. They had a lot of fun, and it was stupid of him to let some… faint little feelings get in the way of that. But over the years the little feelings stopped being so little and every time… every time he kept telling himself he was going to be upfront about it, he ended up standing there, in the aftermath of one match or another, blood still boiling in his veins, adrenaline shutting down half his brain, and the next thing he’d know they were… and just… He told himself he’d tell Leon once he defeated him, that once he was champion he’d explain everything and maybe Leon wouldn’t laugh at him for it. Maybe he’d stand a chance then. 

Well, that wasn’t going to happen now, was it? 

Raihan took a deep breath, told himself to grow a goddamn spine, and then walked into the locker room before he could talk himself out of it all together. 

“Hey,” he said, in lieu of anything potentially stupid, and stuck his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “You in here, Lee?” 

“Ah,” Leon said, standing shirtless in the middle of the room, “hi, Rai,” he added, wincing as Raihan stared at him. “It looks worse than it is, I promise.” 

It, of course, being most of Leon’s entire torso, which was a solid bruise it seemed, all black, blue and purple. It made the scars on his chest almost as noticeable as they had been, those first few months after the surgery. Apparently he’d taken more of a direct hit in the fight with the big mean poison doom dragon, than he’d officially admitted to. 

“…handle with care?” Leon said, with a smile that was half hopeful, half sheepish. “I guess?” He wilted in place as Raihan struggled to find the right words, until he winced. “Are you mad at me?” 

Raihan startled, visibly. 

“What?” 

“For…” Leon began, and waved a hand, vaguely gesturing all around. “You know. The championship.” He swallowed hard. “Are you mad at me?” 

Raihan stared. And then stared some more. And then a bit more still, just because the silence wasn’t awkward enough apparently. 

“I’m not… What I mean… shit,” Raihan snorted, flailing for words and resisting the urge to pull his headband down and hide his face, just so he wouldn’t have to withstand the intensity of Leon staring up at him. “I came here to say… to ask… what happens next.” 

“Dinner?” Leon said, still looking like he was aiming for a joke. “Lots of broken-ribs friendly sex?” 

Raihan swallowed hard. 

“About that…” he began, resisting the urge to chew on the inside of his lower lip, but just barely. “I… we should talk, Lee. Leon. I… I have something to say.” 

Leon’s hands lowered until they were hanging almost limply by his sides, and something in his expression closed off. 

“Oh,” he said, swallowing hard, “…are …are you breaking up with me?” 

Raihan’s brain drowned in static. 

It didn’t last long, though, the panic was there almost immediately. It was great at getting his entire brain whirling around like it was inside a blender. 

“Oh,” Raihan said, as the pieces fell into place, “oh fuck, I am an idiot.” He choked on a laugh as Leon stared up cautiously at him. “We’re dating.” 

“…yes?” Leon said, a questioning tilt to the end of that word, awkward and a little unsure. 

“We’re _dating_ ,” Raihan insisted, and then reached out to pull Leon into a hug, only belatedly remembering he maybe shouldn’t squeeze him so hard by the little wounded whimper Leon let out when he did. “Shit, Lee. Lee, I’m so sorry.” 

“…so,” Leon guessed, staring up at him cautiously, “you’re _not_ breaking up with me?” 

“No, I’m not,” Raihan said, hysterical confidence anchoring his voice as he pressed it into the crown of Leon’s hair. “I’ll… fuck, I’ll tell you later. Let’s go get dinner, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

Raihan wondered if it was too late to fly back home and throw himself off the ruins of Hammerlocke Spire. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang out on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/notavodkashot), if you'd like.


End file.
